Opportunities for Inpatient Room Designs That Facilitate Imaging Professionals in Providing Diagnostic Patient Care: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

An increase in providing hospital bedside imaging examinations could be contributing to the risk of musculoskeletal injuries among imaging professionals. Given the increasing demand for portable bedside imaging, a research project was conducted in three phases: (1) interviews and focus group sessions, (2) full-scale mock-up sessions where occupational stakeholders created prototype rooms, and (3) evaluation sessions of inpatient room prototypes by all stakeholders. The study data from diagnostic medical sonographers (DMS), cardiac sonographers (CS), vascular technologists (VT), and radiographers (RTs) were retrospectively pulled from the overall research to address the following research question: What hospital room designs and components facilitate or hinder medical imaging professionals in providing bedside imaging? Data analyses utilize constant comparative analysis, quantitative counts, and discourse analysis across all three phases of the project. The results highlight the importance of a working area surrounding the patient’s bed that allows for imaging and patient care activities. And this study provides new evidence to inform design considerations that could facilitate the performance of diagnostic patient care at the bedside and reduce exposure to work-related musculoskeletal disorder risks factors.